Hurry up and see those cherry blossoms while you can.
The Big Apple veered into “moderate” drought territory this week after spending months teetering on the edge — and it could shorten the precious few weeks the five boroughs are covered in flowers.
The drier-than-normal conditions won’t necessarily nip the flora and fauna in the bud, but a deceivingly small amount of water was dumped across the five boroughs in recent weeks and the petals are thirstier than normal.
“It’s probably not going to have a big impact on the blooming overall. But once things start to grow, it could be, maybe, a shorter duration bloom,” explained Matt Benz, a senior meteorologist at Accuweather.
“It’s just because of the lack of moisture that we have seen as of late.”
Since Jan 1., Central Park picked up 9.63 inches of rain and snow — a shockingly small amount considering the Big Apple was whalloped with nearly double that amount of snowfall in February.
When melted down to reflect the true precipitation rate, the nearly 20 inches of snow in this winter’s blizzard didn’t yield as much as one might expect.
The Empire State typically sees 14.08 inches of precipitation during roughly the first four months of the year, meaning the Big Apple is running five inches below normal — or about 68%.
“We had these big snow events and you would think, ‘Oh that would not lead to drought conditions in the spring’ … We didn’t have rain events during the winter months and that’s where we were lacking precipitation overall,” said Benz.
That lower precipitation rate pushed the metro area into “moderate” drought territory as of April 21, according to the US Drought Monitor.
In this phase, crops can suffer damage and reservoirs might dip below normal levels — and our bloom season could be shortened.
Fortunately, trees typically stock up on their moisture in the fall in preparation for the spring, leading to the incredible blooms seen across the five boroughs in recent days.
The Big Apple has had several sprinklings of rain in recent days, and expects to see between a half-inch and one inch this Saturday — which Benz said would be a “tease” for the plants.
“You’re going to see things green up really quickly, like the grass, shrubs, things like that. Trees put down roots deep down into the ground — and that dryness goes down a ways. So there will be some impact and benefits to trees and such,” he explained.
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“You need more of it over a longer period to really reap the benefits of it. I think you’ll see a short-term gain, but then long-term if you really want to see more precipitation overall.“
At this time, the Big Apple isn’t in serious drought territory, with meteorologists expecting an uptick in showers and thunderstorms in June and July.
New York City went under a drought warning for the first time in more than two decades in the fall of 2024 after a record-breaking dry spell left reservoirs at only 60% capacity.
